Rain legging



June 24; 1947.

M. RANDALL RAIN LEGGING Filed Nov. 28, 1945 I fnz/erz rar Patented June24, 1947 UNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE Mildred Randall, Berkeley, Calif.

Application November 23, 1945, Serial No. 631,325

legs and feet are fully exposed to rain and her stockings quickly becomesaturated with the rain thence draining down into her overshoes orgaloshes to thoroughly wet her feet and shoes.

2 Claims. (Cl. 36-2) This invention was evolved to provide completeprotection against rain, even driving frontal rains, when worn inacompaniment with suitable shoe coverings and body and head coverings.With a rain cover for the head, a rain coat or cape, and the leggingsdisclosed herein, and a pair of overshoes or galoshes, a woman will befully protected from head to foot.

Furthermore, these leggings do not alter the normal graceful and neatappearance of the wearer, in view of their transparency and lightness,and because they can be applied or removed at will, applied anywherewhen needed, and removed when the need ceases, since they can be quicklyand easily drawn over the shoes. They are made of a tough, flexiblematerial, of very light weight so they can be folded very compactly tobe carried at all times in a handbag, ready for instant use. v

The objects and advantages of the invention are as follows:

First, to provide a rain protection garment for the legs.

Second, to provide a waterproof legging which can be easily and quicklyapplied or removed at any time and any place where the need may arise ormay disappear.

Third, to provide a waterproof legging through which the shod foot ofthe wearer will readily pass.

Fourth, to provide a waterproof legging with garter-type support meansat the upper end for support of the legging.

Fifth, to provide a waterproof legging which in the back terminates atthe bend of the knee so as to avoid any bunching effect.

Sixth, to provide a waterproof legging as outlined with a knee shieldextending above the kneecap for protection against driving rain.

Seventh, to provide a waterproof legging as outlined which may beprovided in either, a sleeve type or a form-fitting type.

Eighth, to-provide a legging as outlined which is transparent so as notto detract from the graceful or'neat appearance of the wearer.

Ninth, to provide a waterproof legging of very light weight, tough,flexible or elastic material so that it can be compactly folded to becarried in a handbag.

In describing the invention reference will be made to the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates the form-fitting modification of the invention asworn.

Fig. 2 illustrates'the preferred form of the invention, preferredbecause of its low cost of manufacture and because it is mostconveniently and easily applied or removed.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the preferred form of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the form-fitting modification of theinvention.

Fig. 5 is a section taken through the formfitting modification showingthe guard and seal for the closure means.

The invention, though not so limited, is preferably made of a tough,transparent, flexible and preferably resilient material, such as variousnew types of plastics of the vinyl-resin type which are transparent,extremely flexible, not easily creased, and slightly elastic; the slightelasticity making the material substantially non-creasing so that whenthe folded legging is opened for application it will provide a neatunwrinkled appearance.

"The preferred form shown in Figs. 2 and 3, consists of a sleeve II)which is large enough at the bottom ll so that it can be slippeddirectly over the'shoe l2 or overshoe of the wearer. A stirrup i3 isprovided when desired, to pass under the instep to keep the bottom inplace to cover the rim I4 of the shoe top.

The back of the legging terminates at its upper end at l5 just below thebend [6 of the knee so that there will be no bunching of material underthe knee when the wearer is seated or the leg is bent back, to providecomfortable and unrestricted movement of the leg.

The front portion of the leggin extends upwardly to form a knee-shieldII, to a point above the knee-cap, and the sides flare downwardly to theback at l5, this knee-shield providing protection against driving rainwhich tends, because of the heavy wind to cause the rain coat l8 tocreep upwardly and expose the knees. Under such conditions, without thisknee-shield the rain would enter the top of the legging.

The legging is supported by a suitable band either just above theknee-cap as illustrated in Fig. 3, or just below the bend of the knee orabove the calf as illustrated in Fig. 4, that shown in Fig. 3 beingpreferred as it draws the top of the knee-shield tight against the leg.

The band or garter as shown in Fig. 3 is attached to the top of theknee-shield as indicated by stitching I 9 and the garter may be formedof leather or other flexible or elastic material 20 and is provided witha suitableclasp or buckle 2| so that it may be adjusted to suit. Acontinuous circular band made to fit the leg, as illustrated in Fig. 4,may be substituted, and furthermore this band 22 may be encased andslidable in a sheath 23 particularly if made of elastic so that theelasticity of the entire circumferential length of the garter may beutilized, in which case the band is cut to proper length, insertedthrough the sheath, and the terminal ends sewed together. As will benoted, the legging being transparent, there is no detraction from theneatness or the color harmony .of the individual.

Some women prefer the form-fitting type illustrated in Fig. 4. This typeis made similar in all respects to the one previously described, withthe back of the legging terminating just below or at the bend of theknee and having the kneeshield l1 and a band 20 or 22, that shown beingan elastic garter slidable in a sheath 23 and encompassing the leg atthe top of the calf 24, though the garter shown in Fig. 3 may besubstituted or it may be located in .the same position as that in Fig.3.

This form-fitting type is made to conform to the leg of the wearer asshown, down to the ankle, from which point the legging is flared asindicated at 25 to shed water over the rim M of the top of the shoe, andis opehable and provided with a suitable quick-operating fastener suchas a zipper along the slit .26, this slit :being carried high enough .toassure convenient passage of a shod foot therethrough, and the slit isalso provided with a seal as indicated in Fig. 5, in which the le ing ismade in .the form of a sleeve 21, the fastening means secured alongspaced points 28 and v29 and the intervening material .30 folded in, sothat when the fastener is closed, the sides 3| and 32 of the foldedportion will lie fiat against the flap portion, which not only forms aperfect seal but additionally protects the stockings.

against damage when the fastener is operated. If a zipper is used as thefastening means, the interlocking device or slide is located at thepoint .33 when the legging is open, so that to ,close the legging it ismerely necessary to slide the device down to the .bottomas indicatedat3.4. This .construction has the additional advantage of not requiringclosing, as it is waterproof even when open, so that in the case of aheavy downpour the form-fitting type of legging can be simply slippedover the shoes without bothering with the fastening device, thusproviding immediate protection without additional exposure because ofthe fastening device. As illustrated in Fig. 2, the same arrangement canbe used in connection with the sleeve type, to reduce the diameter ofthe legging.

The sleeve type shown in Figs. 3 and 2 can just as readily be worn withslacks or trousers since they have approximately the same diameter asthe legs of slacks or trousers.

Ilhis legging can also be adjusted for length. Instead of stitching thegarter to the knee-shield as indicated at IS, a series of snap fastenerfemale members 35 are applied to the knee-shield in vertically spacedrelation. The male member 36 is applied to the front face of the garterfor selective cooperation with the member 35. The garter can thus bedetached and re-connected to the .knee portion of the legging forsupport of the legging at the most desirable elevation.

I claim:

1,. A. rain legging comprising; a sleeve like member having a kneeportion and a garter, and aseries of attaching means on said kneeportion, and cooperative attaching means on said garter for selectivedetachable connection of said garter to .said knee portion for adjustingthe relative elevation of the logging.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1; said sleeve-like member having an.infolding portion and means for connecting the terminal edges of theinfoldi'ng portion to reduce the diameter of the legging after it hasbeen drawn into position on .theleg of the wearer.

MILDRED RANDALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the die ofthis pa en UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 320,557 Hosmer June23, 1885 504,794 Stimpson Sept. 12, 1893 749,951 Rosenwasser Jan. 19,1904 927,986 Marcus July 13, 1909 1,724,413 Rauh Aug. 13, 1929 1,794,506Anderson Mar. 3, 1931 1,827,423 Draikin Oct. 13, 1931 2,099,476 GlowkaNov. 16, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 672,716 France June 6,1930 157,643 Switzerland Dec. 16, 1932

